Category: Phoebe Long

What is Touch for Health™?

Touch for Health™ is the most widely used system of kinesiology in the world. Millions of people have experienced and benefited from TFH. It is recognised and respected as a fundamental training for other kinesiology systems as well as a healing modality in it’s own right – and a key source for the emergence of Energy Medicine, Brain Gym, Energy Kinesiology, and even Energy Psychology.

Touch for Health (TFH) is a system of natural health care which combines muscle monitoring with the principles of Chinese medicine to assess energy and body function. With simple, gentle yet powerful techniques, it creates balance within the meridian system of the body, on all levels. Touch For Health addresses the Structural, Nutritional and Emotional stresses common in our everyday life.

In TFH we use muscle testing as a method of biofeedback to identify imbalances in the body’s energy system. Using a holistic approach we rebalance the body’s energies and activate the body’s intrinsic healing process so that the body can better heal itself.

The TFH process can also assist individuals to better achieve their life goals with goal specific balancing.

Of the people with specific symptoms, the ones who benefit most from Touch for Health™ methods are those who have been to a professional and have been told that there doesn’t seem to be any organic cause for the suffering. The professional recognizes that the patient has a genuine complaint, but is unable to pinpoint a specific cause. Touch for Health’s energy balancing begins by setting a goal. What outcome is desired? What performance does the client want enhanced? Next comes testing of the muscles related to each of the meridians. Then acupressure is used to stimulate the flow of energy and the indicator muscles are retested for positive responses. This simple technique often gives dramatic improvement.– John F. Thie, Founder of Touch for Health

TFH Kinesiology can be easily learned by anyone, with a little practice, without any prior knowledge of muscles, physiology, meridians, etc. The practical, hands-on Touch for Health Synthesis workshops are facilitated by Certified Touch for Health Instructors, trained by the Faculty of the International Kinesiology College (IKC), and active in over 60 countries worldwide.

History of TFH Balancing: 1973 and Beyond

We see an unprecedented need for change in the way that we live and care for ourselves, and an unprecedented opportunity for those of us in TFH/K to take a leadership role in fulfilling human needs and effecting change in our lives. Now that people from all walks of life –business, arts, science, religion, etc.– and among all the healing disciplines– medicine, chiropractic, faith healing, massage, psychology, etc.– we are uniquely positioned to contribute in all of these areas. We are uniquely prepared to fulfil the desperately needed role of interface between the health-care practitioner (whether reductionist, disease centred, or holistic, wellness oriented), and personal responsibility, self awareness, and self-care.

TFH draws not only on over 30 years of development and integration of techniques in Kinesiology, but thousands of years of philosophies and sciences of living well, proven by what we feel is the truest and best means: direct and personal, subjective experience of a better life. Our concepts of Wellness integrate the holistic worldview of the East, as well as the vitalistic tradition in the West as espoused in the original concepts of naturopathy, chiropractic, and even Western scientific medicine.

Currently we find ourselves at a crossroads. Much of the change and growth, branching out and diverging of paths has come full circle to where all of the Kinesiologies, with their varied areas of emphasis, multiple techniques, concepts, and models, recognize a commonality of core values, beliefs, and shared purpose that allow us to call this vast array of people, ideas, programs, schools associations and institutions all part of one body, the Touch for Health Synthesis. And it is through this element of unity that we can take a cooperative approach to our efforts, with mutual regard and respect, health and forthright discussion and exchange of ideas and common purpose and vision for the future.

Touch for Health was created by John F. Thie, DC (1933-2005). The first Manual was published in 1973 and launched a worldwide movement in a holistic approach to health which teaches the restoring of our natural energies. It is a practical guide to natural health using acupressure, touch and massage to improve postural balance and reduce physical and mental pain and tension. It is the key source for the emergence of Energy Medicine, Brain Gym, Energy Kinesiology, and even Energy Psychology.

Breakthru Enrichment Station organized the first Educational Kinesiology Symposium in Malaysia, with the objective of bringing awareness of various educational strategies, methods, tools and testimonies in assisting special needs people/children’s development and growth.

This is a one day event, and there were a total of 12 speakers from local and overseas presented their efforts and knowledge in this event. We would like to show our greatest appreciation to these speakers, MC and translators in supporting this event (yup it’s an English/Mandarin event)!

The children from Breakthru Enrichment Station volunteered to perform a lively dance to welcome our guest. Some of these children have special needs but they all enjoy the performance. The dance that they presented was “Mocha – by the Minions of Despicable Me 2”.

Our MC for the day, Ms Prema (in English) and Ms Liew (in Mandarin). This is a bi-lingual event.

In our welcoming speech, Ms Phoebe (right), and her translator Ms Wan Ching. She highlighted the importance of Active Parenting in supporting their special needs children’s development and what Educational Kinesiology can help them to be more pro-active in such role.

Our key-note speaker, Ms Moira Dempsey (right), is from Australia, and her translator Ms Phoebe (in Mandarin). It was an important lesson to learn about challenges a child face in his/her development.

Our special adress speaker Ms Ngiam Lian Ai (right), and her translator (in Mandarin). She stressed in the importance of putting the right focus on skill appropriate training (including fine-motor development through edu-kinesiology and movement based learning) instead of over emphasis on academic development, and shared some of her success stories. The refreshments for this event are all prepared by the special needs children trained from Breakthru Enrichment Station.

Ms Candy of Hong Kong (lady holding the batik souvenir, presented by Cassandra in red) shows us how to do Double Doodle (an Edu-K Movement) with music. Children and adults enjoyed doing their double doodle activities, and were most impressed with the fun it brings too!

Mr Dennis Ho (right) and his team (Mr Dennis & Ms Candy) did a great job demonstrating the Meridian Dance, and everyone just loves doing the dance! It is an easy and fun way to remember the primary meridian movements used in Touch for Health™. Lets have the music!

Ms Cynthia Teo of Singapore (right) shared the usefulness of Essential Oils in helping ourselves and our children. These clinical grade essential oils are greatly effective and we use it widely in our centre to help our children (and trainers too!). Email us (bestcentre@breakthru.com.my) for your purchasing needs, or to learn more about these oils you may visit Young Living website.

Lunch is served!

Ms Siew Lee explains about how do we observe our brain waves using tools from NeuroSky® for the purpose of knowing and training our state of mind. The headset scans your brain wave and can show, in terms of your ability to focus or calm down, the difference before and after doing your Brain Gym® balances, especially useful when you work on your focus or centering dimension balances. Email us (bestcentre@breakthru.com.my) if you wish to know more.

Ms Marie Helene shared her experience with bringing up her teenage child that has special challenges. Many great advise was shared, and also how she uses Edu-K in the process. A very valuable session for many parents, as Marie is a very experienced and knowledgeable trainer cum mother.

Mr Chong and Ms Sook Fern hosted the young kids parent group discussion session and shared their experience in bringing up their own special need children. Many touching stories were shared, and the importance of personal involvement (and sacrifices) in parenting cannot be stressed any lesser. But we are glad there are more methods to help us nowadays. Its up to the parents now to pick them up!

Ms Claire Ang talks about learning can be fun using Educational Kinesiology! She gain her first hand insight of this topic from her profession as an Educational Psychologist, and very much encourage everyone to try so. Her PowerPoint presentation will be uploaded here soon.

Many thanks to all speakers and those who participated in the forum. Our forum moderator, Mr Moses Wong, led us through a one hour of Q&A and highlighted some key questions to discuss about.

Thank You and we appreciate all your feedbacks. See You Again Next Year!

Not forgetting those who worked hard in making this event a successful one, these are some of their photos, and the organizer truly appreciates their contribution and invites all participants together to say thank you to these workers!

Speakers from Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia came together for a focused discussion from the perspectives of Speech Therapist Occupational Therapist, Pharmacist, Child Psychologist, Parents who have special needs adults, Rhythmic Movement Training International Instructor & Provider, Touch for Health® Instructor, Brain Gym® Instructor & Consultant on how to effectively support the development of people and children with special needs.

In line with the school initiative to include parents involvement in contributing to schools, Phoebe volunteered and introduced BrainGym movement and play today. The students were very participative and had a good session of brain exercise to prepare for their exam later.

There were a few things happening during the holidays. Most of our teachers and facilitators underwent a series of training with renowned trainer, Cecilia Koester, USA, Author of ‘I am the child’ and ‘Movement Based Learning for children with all abilities’ and Founder of Movement Based Learning Inc. www.movementbasedlearning.com. We had up close and personal learning sessions with her witnessing the parental coaching process to identify the children’s specific needs in their learning dimensions.

We hope to share this precious learning experience with you, spouse and care giver of your child so that we may partner together to see a smoother breakthru and progress for your child’s current challenges in 2013.

During the last year talent time in November, we announced that we will be conducting a series of parental coaching programme. The dates are now set as follows:

Topic : Develop the strength of noticing and inner leadershipMovement Based Learning Building Blocks Activities 7

Parents Coaching Programme is specially arranged to support parents who have children with learning challenges / disabilities. The coaching programme includes 7 essential topics and 7 movement based learning building blocks activities that addresses the foundational pieces of learning so that children who have special needs can learn how to learn. Parents are coached to support their children in a functional, practical way so that any information is directly applicable and useable.

What is Movement Based Learning

The movements and activities that Movement Based Learning, Inc. incorporate in the child’s learning are based on natural, normal human development. They bring about rapid and often dramatic improvements in focus, comprehension, communication, organization and physical movement. The Brain Gym® International Foundation developed a unique program of physical activities that synchronizes body and mind to enhance learning and achievement for people of all ages and abilities. The activities and methods of Brain Gym® are safe, easy and enjoyable. Cecilia Koester developed a course for Brain Gym® International called Brain Gym® for Special Needs Providers. Therapists, teachers, tutors, elder caregivers and parents as well as anyone in the caring professions will benefit from learning how to assess the needs of an individual, develop a Brain Gym® program to meet those needs, evaluate the effectiveness of the program with ways to modify when necessary for best results.

Participants will leave this course with the new skills that optimize learning and performance in all areas of life. And they will find that these tools are immediately applicable in home, school and therapeutic settings!
In addition to teaching the above courses, Cecilia Koester is mentoring others to teach Brain Gym® for Special Education Providers.

Who and why do we have Primitive Reflexes? What are the impact on a child’s learning ability if they are unintegrated? Find out more about Grasp Reflex, Tonic Neck Reflex, Step Reflex and Crawl Reflex and Reason why these early and primitive reflexes may not fully integrate in us or in your child.

We will discuss about the general observations that may indicate the presence of unintegrated reflexes, and recommended general management strategies when dealing with unintegrated reflexes and movement based learning e.g. Rhythmic Movement Training and Brain Gym ®.

There will be ample Q&A time.

Who will benefit?

Grandparents, parents, care givers, day care teachers and anyone who is interested to care for children especially those with special needs.

MOVEMENT: There are many programmes available now which addresses learning and behavioural challenges in children through natural body movements.

Phoebe Long (left) and Paul Dennison, founder of Brain Gym(R)

The early reflexes or muscle movements of an infant are critical for the development of his or her brain functions, and ability to learn.

Under normal conditions, all reflexes will appear during the appropriate stage of a child’s development.

According to experts, when these reflexes are not initiated, integrated or inhibited in a child, they will prevent the natural maturity of the neural systems, leading to postural and behavioural problems, and learning difficulties in children.

Phoebe Long, an Educational Kinesiologist and consultant specialising in helping children with special needs, says the early childhood experiences of movement and play activate the brain and develop its neural networks.

She says that many children who do not have sufficient and adequate sensory experiences and physical movements during their childhood may experience learning gaps.

Many factors, Long says, can disrupt the normal progression of natural infant reflexes and developmental movements.

“For example, a baby delivered through a normal birth undergoes primary motor reflex patterns but when the child is delivered via Caesarean section, he or she does not engage these reflexes. “When a baby crawls, he or she develops connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain, strengthening their corpus collosum. These movements develop the neural networks in the brain, which are essential to learning. Placing the child in a walker will hinder his or her natural progress”

She says allowing children to watch television for long hours or spend time on computers instead of interactive play with family members and friends may cause delay in speech and other developmental issues.

“The more we hinder a child’s natural developmental movements, the more we create a learning gap in the brain. The more a child moves, the better connected his or her brain is,” says Long who has been involved in teaching special needs children for more than five years.

In order for children to respond well to learning experiences, she says, the issue of retained reflexes should be addressed.

An approach that has gained recognition to deal with this problem, says Long, is movement-based learning.

According to her, movement-based learning approaches like Brain Gym, Rhythmic Movement Training and Sensory Integration have been widely used to support not only children with learning disabilities but also all children to discover their true potential.

Brain Gym, for instance, is based on the philosophy that the brain will develop via certain body movements. It emerged as a result of clinical studies since the 1970s by Dr Paul E. Dennison, an educational therapist who was looking for ways to help children and adults with learning difficulties.

(The Lazy 8s movement uses a drawing of a figure eight to increase integration between the two side of the brain.)

Brain Gym addresses three specific learning dimensions called Focus, Centering and Laterality, all of which serve as neural ‘bridges’ of the brain.

The Focusing dimension deals with the coordination of the front and rear brain, and is connected to the ability to focus and comprehend.

The Centering dimension is linked to the coordination of the upper and lower brain and is related to emotions, relaxation and organisation.

The Laterality dimension, on the other hand, deals with the coordination of the left and right hemispheres of the brain and is useful for activities such as reading, writing and communicating.

“These movements facilitate the connection between the key areas of the brain. It engages the whole brain. When the three dimensions work together, the whole system is balanced, allowing a person to comprehend, communicate and organise better,” says Long.

She says there are 26 basic Brain Gym movements. “All the movements and activities are introduced based on observing the postural and behavioural patterns in a child.

“The Lengthening activities, for example, may be done to help children with ADHD and autistic spectrum disorders who often have problems sitting still and staying focused. One of the exercises used is the ‘calf pump’ which involves stretching the child’s right leg backwards while the heel is held for about eight seconds. It is then slowly released.

“The movement is repeated with the left leg for about a minute to lengthen the tendon in the calf. This is done to discharge the fear reflex,” says Long.

Other preparatory exercises which may stimulate the brain and relax the body include the “Cross Crawl”, “Lazy 8s” and “Double Doodle”

The “Cross Crawl” involves taking the left arm of a child and crossing over to the right knee as it is raised. The same is done with the child’s right arm.

It is done to access both brain hemispheres and improve left-right coordination, vision and hearing.

The “Lazy 8s” movement uses the drawing of a figure eight to increase integration between the two sides of the brain, and the “Double Doodle” requires children to draw using both hands at the same time to improve visual perception and creative expression.

She stresses that for proper neurological development to take place, these activities must not be forced but incorporated smoothly throughout the day.

“The improvements in learning and behaviour among children are progressive and sure. However, it is not a panacea to solve children’s learning difficulties or cure neurobiological disorders,” says Long.

Since the 1980s, the field of Educational Kinesiology (Edu-K)- the study of movement and its relationship to learning – has touched people of all ages and cultures. It demonstrates that, when the neuropathways for movement are fired, they activate and connect the whole brain in the synergistic way necessary for growth and change.

In the spirit of true education, we in Edu-K do our best to accept ourselves as individuals with unique challenges and great potential. We seek to meet ourselves where we are, honour that place, and stay open to learning at our own pace, for our own intrinsic worth. As a participant / student of Brain Gym (R) courses, you will now have a perpetual opportunity to move through the rich landscape of your own sensory integration. As you rediscover the physical skills involved in your personal/child/students’ learning process, you’ll realise how each one of us is engaged in lifelong odyssey of growth.

We are pleased to inform you that our next Brain Gym courses have been scheduled commencing 2 April 2011. Summary of the training are as follows:

2, 3, 9 & 10 April 2011 – Brain Gym Workshop (English)

from 9am-6.30pm on 2nd and 9th April (Saturdays) and
from 2pm-7pm on 3rd and 11th April (Sundays)

Each class is limited to 12 participants only. The next BG101 course will have to wait until June 2011. We look forward to your participation.

You can experience Brain Gym in private sessions with a licensed Brain Gym ® practitioner, or in classes such as the introductory Brain Gym ® 101 course.

You will find Brain Gym ® 101 course to be a movement-based educational experience centered around 26 simple activities that recall the movements children naturally do during their first years of life as they learn to coordinate their eyes, ears, hands and whole body.

No matter what challenges you or children may face, this course will help you to awaken your natural abilities, freeing you to move, learn, grow and succeed as well as to support your children’s learning process.

You’ll find the content of this course to be immediately valuable not only to yourself but to the friends, colleagues, and family members you may share it with.

The 5-Step Balance – this process targets a goal of your choice. You will learn how to select and do the Brain Gym activities that best support achieving the goal.

2 Re-patterning Sequences – Dennison Laterality Re-patterning and Three Dimension Re-patterning “remind” different areas of your brain to work together synergistically. They are specially useful for improving focus, participation, and organization, and for the greater case in everyday tasks and physical activities.

Event held in:

Date and Time:

Check out our online registration for list of upcoming classes and register online:

Fees inclusive of BG101 manual, International Certificate and light refreshments.

Phoebe Long

Licensed
Brain Gym® Instructor/Consultant

International Registered
Touch for Health™ Instructor

Phoebe and Dr. Paul Dennison, the Founder of Brain Gym International

She has the privilege of hands-on learning and experiencing Brain Gym with Dr. Paul Dennison (Founder of Brain Gym International), Dr. Carla Hannaford (Author of various books i.e. Smart Moves, The Dominance Factor, Awakening the Child Heart and Playing in the Unified Field), Cecilia Koester (Author of Interfacing Brain Gym with Children who have Special Needs) and many other dedicated and passionate instructors.

Brain Gym® is a program of easy physical movements that synchronize body and mind to optimize how we learn and perform in all areas of our lives at…

School.. Arts.. Athletics.. Social skills..

The movements are easy to do and enjoyable for adults, children, and seniors, and they bring about rapid and lasting changes in fundamental abilities, including : focus, organization, comprehension, physical coordination, social and communication skills, memory, attentiveness, and more.

“Brain Gym began as breakthrough for overcoming learning disabilities, but soon expanded into a program for drawing out potential at every level of skill and achievement.”

When Dr. Peter Cox, former U.S. Fencing Team gold medallist, was preparing for the Olympics, his training schedule included Brain Gym. “I was amazed at the results,” he wrote, “and so were my opponents.”

In the 1970s, educational therapist Paul E. Dennison, PhD, began drawing from and building on this knowledge to create a group of movement that, with the eventual collaboration of his wife and partner, Gail E. Dennison, would become the Brain Gym movements and the cornerstone of the field of Educational Kinesiology (“enhanced learning through movement”).

“What is particularly noteworthy about the Brain Gym results is that the changes are rapid, far-reaching, and lasting… Within a year, a surprising number of those students were transferred into classes for gifted students.”

said Svetlana Masgutova, PhD, a psychologist in Russia, used Brain Gym with ‘learning disabled’ high school students who had been placed in remedial classes.

Developmental experts have known for more than 80 years that physical movement activates the brain and enhances learning

These early versions of the Brain Gym movements achieved their first success in California’s Valley Remedial Group learning centres. There they enabled many children and adults who had been identified as “dyslexic,” “ADD,” “hyperactive,” or “learning disabled” to discover and develop their true potential. Subsequent studies published in North America, Germany, Australia and elsewhere confirmed that the Brain Gym movements produced measurable gains in physical skills, learning skills, and academic performances.